Turkish Entertainment Content Is Booming – in Latin America? | Charts

Joe Bel Bruno
·2 min read

Demand around the world for Turkish series has been booming recently. But perhaps nowhere more than … Latin America?

Yes, audiences living in the region that defines telenovelas are all about shows coming out of a country 5,400 miles away that straddles both the Middle East and Asia. Latinos from Buenos Aires to Santiago have discovered Turkey’s episodic series in a big way but also snagging viewers to dramas and shows that promote family values.

The cultural themes are resonating.

Over the past two years, global demand for Turkish content has grown by 44%. However, the markets seeing the largest growth in audience demand for these series are in Latin America.

While demand for Turkish content in most of these markets has at least doubled, Argentina leads the pack, where the total demand for Turkish series is more than four times what it was in June 2020.

Looking at which Turkish series have succeeded in Argentina recently, “Hercai” is the stand out hit, with 10.14 times the average series demand. The Turkish romance drama had more than twice the demand of the next most in-demand Turkish series in June (“The Game of my Destiny”).

Romance is a common theme of most of these top series whether they be dramas, romantic comedies, or even romance realities.

One show that provides a particularly interesting example of how Turkish producers have begun catering to the LATAM market is “The Power of Love: Latin America.”

Rather than just exporting content made for Turkish audiences, this show is made in Turkey designed for the Latin American market. It is a romance reality series based on the Turkish series “Kısmetse Olur.”  In this updated format, contestants from around Latin America are brought to live together in a house in Turkey. A feature of this show is that each week a couple is treated to a romantic trip to somewhere in Turkey.

Clearly, this tourist element of the show is designed to cater to audiences who have likely been introduced to Turkey by a local drama and want to see more of the actual country.